News Disney and Fox come to terms -- announcement soon; huge IP acquisition

[Bocabear]

Does this mean a Sean Hannity animatronic?

 

[larryz]

Does this mean a Sean Hannity animatronic?

After what we've seen with HoP...
.

 

[Bocabear]

After what we've seen with HoP.... I don't think so, Tim.

LOL...Well Fox acquisition and lots of new ips... IMO even if they acquire Fox, Disney has more than enough IPs in their own brand... they do not need anything from Fox...especially Hannity...lol

 

[mikejs78]

LOL...Well Fox acquisition and lots of new ips... IMO even if they acquire Fox, Disney has more than enough IPs in their own brand... they do not need anything from Fox...especially Hannity...lol

Fox News isn't part of the deal, fortunately...

 

[Robbiem]

It’s a licensed park like UNI Singapore (also Genting) or TDR.

Does anyone know the licence terms? I wonder if this is a one off licence or if genting has the right to build other fox parks?

It eould be interesting to see disney run the fox brand as a franchise for areas where they wouldnt want to build a full scale disney resort

 

[Rodan75]

Not if my most recent experience is indicative. I have never experienced such an enormous headache in all my life. If I recorded the conversations I had, it would be a scandal.

I've been a customer of Comcast as well. so I know your pain. I'm not saying Comcast has been successful in improving their customer service and contact center operations, just that leaders in the company feel well cared for and that they have a pretty strong community.

Being a person who specializes in Contact Center Technology and Customer Care Operations, their issues are obvious and relatively easy to fix, which makes it all the more frustrating that they still have them. It is a long story, but once I had a horrible customer care situation with Comcast one that highlighted some integration issues they were having in their southern region during their Adelphia acquisition. I sent Brian Roberts a complaint that detailed what integration points were failing and how to fix them. Being in the industry, I knew this would go to their exec services team and I would never hear anything, but it made me feel better. Within a week, I had a technician assigned to me, who fixed my issue and stayed in contact with me for over a year to ensure things didn't break again, a voice mail from Brian Roberts apologizing for the situation and thanking me for my suggestions and within 2 weeks a job offer from the southern region. I declined, since I worked for a competitor of theirs already.

The point is, their execution still sucks, but I think their intent isn't bad.

 

[Pixieish]

I've been a customer of Comcast as well. so I know your pain. I'm not saying Comcast has been successful in improving their customer service and contact center operations, just that leaders in the company feel well cared for and that they have a pretty strong community.

Being a person who specializes in Contact Center Technology and Customer Care Operations, their issues are obvious and relatively easy to fix, which makes it all the more frustrating that they still have them. It is a long story, but once I had a horrible customer care situation with Comcast one that highlighted some integration issues they were having in their southern region during their Adelphia acquisition. I sent Brian Roberts a complaint that detailed what integration points were failing and how to fix them. Being in the industry, I knew this would go to their exec services team and I would never hear anything, but it made me feel better. Within a week, I had a technician assigned to me, who fixed my issue and stayed in contact with me for over a year to ensure things didn't break again, a voice mail from Brian Roberts apologizing for the situation and thanking me for my suggestions and within 2 weeks a job offer from the southern region. I declined, since I worked for a competitor of theirs already.

The point is, their execution still sucks, but I think their intent isn't bad.

I've long been a customer of Comcast and I am well aware of why people hate them. We've never had a complaint about the quality of our cable or their ability to provide the services we pay for. HOWEVER, I do take issue with their use of subcontractors for in-home installations/service appointments...I had an extra phone jack installed specifically for fax use, and let's just say it ain't pretty (they couldn't install an actual wall-jack, so there's a phone line coming up through the floor, with a crappy jack on the end of it). I also had the cable moved from one end of a room to another...again...not pretty. If I call them for one thing or another, I am almost always more knowledgeable than the person I am speaking with at Comcast (which doesn't really bother me - I'm an ex-IT person), but there have been times that I've needed to call on my mother's behalf because the tech on the phone isn't able to understand and/or handle someone who isn't tech savvy, and her issue lies outside the usual "let's reset the modem". RARELY have I called and spoken to someone who knows how to troubleshoot connectivity issues beyond a modem reset.

I also once had a customer service rep try to convince me that they were holding our digital purchases hostage because we were late with a payment. YES...I asked if they were "holding my digital movie purchases hostage" in those exact words and was spoken to as if I were ignorant. Needless to say, I called back, reported the previous CSR's behavior, was apologized to profusely, and got our digital media restored. All that said, I LOVE our phone/internet/cable service, but despise how Comcast actually deals with people.

I'll agree that their intent isn't bad when I see their front-line personnel getting some actual training beyond reading what's on a screen in front of them and flat-out lying to customers.

 

[Rodan75]

I've long been a customer of Comcast and I am well aware of why people hate them. We've never had a complaint about the quality of our cable or their ability to provide the services we pay for. HOWEVER, I do take issue with their use of subcontractors for in-home installations/service appointments...I had an extra phone jack installed specifically for fax use, and let's just say it ain't pretty (they couldn't install an actual wall-jack, so there's a phone line coming up through the floor, with a crappy jack on the end of it). I also had the cable moved from one end of a room to another...again...not pretty. If I call them for one thing or another, I am almost always more knowledgeable than the person I am speaking with at Comcast (which doesn't really bother me - I'm an ex-IT person), but there have been times that I've needed to call on my mother's behalf because the tech on the phone isn't able to understand and/or handle someone who isn't tech savvy, and her issue lies outside the usual "let's reset the modem". RARELY have I called and spoken to someone who knows how to troubleshoot connectivity issues beyond a modem reset.

I also once had a customer service rep try to convince me that they were holding our digital purchases hostage because we were late with a payment. YES...I asked if they were "holding my digital movie purchases hostage" in those exact words and was spoken to as if I were ignorant. Needless to say, I called back, reported the previous CSR's behavior, was apologized to profusely, and got our digital media restored. All that said, I LOVE our phone/internet/cable service, but despise how Comcast actually deals with people.

I'll agree that their intent isn't bad when I see their front-line personnel getting some actual training beyond reading what's on a screen in front of them and flat-out lying to customers.

I totally understand and agree. Part of their challenge is that they have chosen a fairly heavy outsourcing path, but they don't manage those outsource vendors with the same care and attention they manage their internal staff. This leads to frequent breakdowns and repeat customer contacts. To compare, DirecTV also uses a fairly heavy outsource model, but they have very close management of their outsourcers, managing them as an extension of the company and not just a vendor. I've heard that AT&T has started to leverage more of the DirecTV model than the one they used to deploy.

 

[Indy_UK]

So no counterbids yet from Comcast?

 

[seascape]

So no counterbids yet from Comcast?

The market appears to indicate Comcast will not make a bid. As soon as the news broke that Disney would receive government approval on the Fox merger Comcast stock jumped then today it's up another 3%. Disney is also up but not as much. Remember this Comcast was at $44.00 a share prior to their reportedly bidding on Fox. A smart resolution to this bidding war would be for Disney and Fox to agree to give up Sky in exchange for their share of Comcasts 31 billion offer for Sky plus the return of themeparks rights to the Marvel Name. Let Universal keep the rights to Spiderman and Hulk for Orlando only but nothing else and no longer be able to use the Marvel name. Otherwise Disney and Fox should go all out and win it all.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

The market appears to indicate Comcast will not make a bid. As soon as the news broke that Disney would receive government approval on the Fox merger Comcast stock jumped then today it's up another 3%. Disney is also up but not as much. Remember this Comcast was at $44.00 a share prior to their reportedly bidding on Fox. A smart resolution to this bidding war would be for Disney and Fox to agree to give up Sky in exchange for their share of Comcasts 31 billion offer for Sky plus the return of themeparks rights to the Marvel Name. Let Universal keep the rights to Spiderman and Hulk for Orlando only but nothing else and no longer be able to use the Marvel name. Otherwise Disney and Fox should go all out and win it all.

Universal also have the theme park rights to Storm, and Doctor Doom as well.

 

[seascape]

Universal also have the theme park rights to Storm, and Doctor Doom as well.

That has nothing to do with the deal I think would be good for both companies. There is no was Universal will get Sky for anywhere near 31 billion unless Disney and Fox agree. Making a deal will save Comcast many billions in exchange for the Marvel name and all rights to anything except Spiderman and Hulk is as good a deal as they can get. It should also include movie distribution rights to Hulk which are worthless to Universal as no standalone Hulk movies are planned.

 

[asianway]

Universal also have the theme park rights to Storm, and Doctor Doom as well.

It is by families, they have the Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four families.

 

[Rodan75]

That has nothing to do with the deal I think would be good for both companies. There is no was Universal will get Sky for anywhere near 31 billion unless Disney and Fox agree. Making a deal will save Comcast many billions in exchange for the Marvel name and all rights to anything except Spiderman and Hulk is as good a deal as they can get. It should also include movie distribution rights to Hulk which are worthless to Universal as no standalone Hulk movies are planned.

I said something similar at the beginning of all of this. And folks thought I was crazy, but it looks like a smart deal as things progress.

Do you think Comcast would also pick up some of the RSNs that Disney is willing to give up?

 

[Stripes]

So between Disney's new bid, the DOJ approval leak, and that new WSJ article, I don't think Comcast will counter. Might be wrong, but as it stands I think it has probably sunk in that they're not winning this fight.

 

[Rodan75]

So between Disney's new bid, the DOJ approval leak, and that new WSJ article, I don't think Comcast will counter. Might be wrong, but as it stands I think it has probably sunk in that they're not winning this fight.

At first I thought that WSJ article was a bit of propaganda pro-Comcast, but after thinking about it all day, it really makes Roberts look small.

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

Comcast was willing to play ball and let Disney have the Marvel and domestic rights:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/standi...ox-media-titans-rocky-relationship-1529617091

 

[seascape]

I said something similar at the beginning of all of this. And folks thought I was crazy, but it looks like a smart deal as things progress.

Do you think Comcast would also pick up some of the RSNs that Disney is willing to give up?

It's possible. As a Yankee fan it would guarantee they would get coverage on Comcast no matter what the cost.

 

[Stripes]

At first I thought that WSJ article was a bit of propaganda pro-Comcast, but after thinking about it all day, it really makes Roberts look small.

Definitely. If I was Roberts, I'd be embarrassed. I keep thinking, who are the article's sources? Something tells me Rupert put that story out on purpose. It's the WSJ, after all.

Anyway, I've been looking at the financials and it's clear to me more than ever that Disney is winning this. The only question was whether they were willing to lever up for this transaction, and that was made crystal clear on Wednesday. Comcast stock is going up because investors think they're going to walk away. If they make another bid, the stock will tank.

 

[happycamperuni]

So between Disney's new bid, the DOJ approval leak, and that new WSJ article, I don't think Comcast will counter. Might be wrong, but as it stands I think it has probably sunk in that they're not winning this fight.

Definitely. If I was Roberts, I'd be embarrassed. I keep thinking, who are the article's sources? Something tells me Rupert put that story out on purpose. It's the WSJ, after all.

Anyway, I've been looking at the financials and it's clear to me more than ever that Disney is winning this. The only question was whether they were willing to lever up for this transaction, and that was made crystal clear on Wednesday. Comcast stock is going up because investors think they're going to walk away. If they make another bid, the stock will tank.

The stock would only tank if investors think Comcast is going to win. Right now investors seem to think Comcast won't win regardless of what kind of bid they make.

It's like AT&T stock, AT&T's stock was going up until the actual ruling by the judge; their bid for TW wasn't really accounted for in their stock because the assumption was that there would be months of legal limbo for the TW merger. Instead, the judge ruled completely for AT&T and so AT&T's stock fell 5%.

I think there's 2 possibilities here:
1) If Comcast makes an all-cash bid at $78-80 billion, the markets won't take it seriously. They'll assume Disney will just add another $5 billion in cash and $5 billion in stock to outbid Comcast again. In that case, I wouldn't expect much movement in Comcast's stock price. They're just adding more debt to Disney's balance sheet by bidding it up.

2) If Comcast makes a 50-50 cash/stock bid at $78-80 billion, then the market will take that more seriously because they think Comcast would be willing to outbid Disney (since they'd technically still be able to add billions of cash/stock to that bid). So then the bidding war would be serious and might reach a number like $90 billion...